Continental Hockey League (KHL) - And after six tight matches, only an even tighter match could decide the series. With an unusual 1-0 score Ak Bars conquered the first KHL title thanks to a goal scored midway through the third period by team’s captain Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins). (eurohockey.net article by Alessandro Seren Rosso) READ MORE

Continental Hockey League (KHL) - The end of the inaugural KHL season could not have been written a better way than this! Well it could have been with more scoring, but a game seven between the league’s two strongest clubs was a great way to finish it after an entertaining series. The somewhat underdog Kazan came up on top, with Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) scoring the only goal in the last period of the game. The club was an underdog since it has lost a few of its top players in the past two seasons including Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins), Alexei Tereschenko (Dallas Stars) and goalie Alexander Eremenko. However, while some of the replacements have not been as impressive a few young players and newcomers have come up big in the series including Andrei Pervyshin (St. Louis Blues) and Nikita Alexeev (Chicago Blackhawks). Pervyshin has been a long time member of Ak Bars after leaving Lokomotiv but only this year has he become a regular contributor at the top level, while Nikita Alexeev (Chicago Blackhawks) has bounced between Russia and NHL, showing signs of immense potential but failing to break-out in either league. Lokomotiv was close to winning the series on several occasions, but the break down point for the club, despite the series continuing for another week must have been the failure to keep the 3:0 lead in game two that was eventually won by Ak Bars after a spectacular come back. Alexei Yashin and a few imported players are the clear leaders of the squad and it will be interesting to see what happens next year and whether Yashin will remain in Russia or return to the NHL after a two season absence.

Continental Hockey League (KHL) - We have updated the 2008-09 season statistics, summing up the results for the regular season. Not suprisingly Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) finished the regular season atop the scoring charts with Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) close behind him. Konstantin Glazachev (Nashville Predators)'s assention to the top of the KHL has been great to watch, especially considering his struggles to find a good fit over the past several seasons. Alexei Shirokov and Dmitri Pestunov (Phoenix Coyotes) are other promising prospects atop the charts, though Jaromir Jagr (New York Rangers) had a lot to do with Pestunov's success, as the young forward centered the former NHL super star's line in Omsk. READ MORE

Continental Hockey League (KHL) - The best line in the Russian K.H.L. officially broke up over the weekend when the league ruled that Ak Bars Kazan forward Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) was no longer under contract to the team.
Zinoviev, with Ak Bars since 2002-03, centered the league’s top line with Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Danis Zapirov on his wings. That same troika also starred for the national team in recent years. But early this season Zinoviev had a run-in with coach Zinetula Bilyayetdinov, who demoted him to the fourth line. Zinoviev eventually filed a grievance with the league, claiming that his wages had also been cut, a move that would void his contract with Ak Bars. The Tatar club denied the charge, but on Saturday the K.H.L. ruled in Zinoviev’s favor, making him a free agent. Ak Bars, who were fined 3 million rubles ($106,000), said they would appeal to a sports arbitration body.
(New York Times article by Jeff Z. Klein)
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Karjala Cup (EuroTour) - FHR (Russian Hockey Federation) has released the list of the players who will skate for Russia in the forthcoming Karjala Cup, Euro Hockey Tour’s first round, who will be played in Finland from sixth to ninth November. Russia will play the first game at home, in Moscow, against Sweden. Every EHT round has a game scheduled in another country than the organizing one.

The Russian roster features seven players from CSKA Moscow and six from Salavat Yulaev Ufa. The most notable missing player is probably the former Vancouver Canuck Kirill Koltsov.

Continental Hockey League (KHL) - QUEBEC CITY (AP) — Maxim Afinogenov (Buffalo Sabres) scored two goals, Alex Ovechkin added another and Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) had the winner in the shootout to give Russia a 4-3 victory over Belarus in a qualifying-round game at the world hockey championship Friday. Earlier Friday, Finland beat Latvia 2-1 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Morozov beat goalie Vitaly Koval with a backhand in the shootout to keep Russia undefeated in the tournament. (USA Today Article) READ MORE

Super League - Ak Bars Kazan lost the fourth and deciding semifinals game to Salavat Yulayev, which advanced to the finals. Igor Volkov (New York Islanders) again scored an important goal for Salavat. Sadly, Kazan’s Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) – Danis Zaripov line remained quiet. Still, Kazan fought hard and forced overtime in this contest, though the extra period ended early when Alexei Tereschenko (Dallas Stars) suddently threw a shot on net from the boards and Eshe was not able to handle it. Salavat advances to the finals to meet Lokomotiv.

Super League - Oleg Tverdovsky (Los Angeles Kings) scored two goals, with Alexei Shkotov (St. Louis Blues) and Igor Volkov (New York Islanders) adding a tally each to help Salavat Yulayev past HC Ak Bars and take the lead in the series. Robert Esche did not have his best game for Kazan, allowing a soft goal on Tverdovsky’s shot early on in the game and then failing to stop a couple of critical shots, including the one by Igor Volkov (New York Islanders), who skated past Andrei Pervyshin (St. Louis Blues) to the slot. Kazan once again depended too much on the top Danis Zaripov – Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) – Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) line and the team was unable to beat Ufa’s stacked lineup. If Salavat wins the next contest, it will advance to the finals for the first time in team history!

Super League - While CSKA’s loss was not shocking, many projected this as being the year that this once famed and now resurrected club would win the whole thing in Russia. Unfortunately it was not meant to be as CSKA faced off against former champ HC Ak Bars in the quarterfinals. Ak Bars, which has significantly more playoff experience soundly defeated CSKA in three straight games. In this last contest CSKA appeared by the score to be closer than before, but not really by the club’s play as Ak Bars was once again very strong. Lowson did not perform that well once again, allowing a soft goal from Oleg Petrov to open the scoring. Defensive prospect Anton Belov was called for fighting towards the end of the first period which led to Kazan’s second goal as Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) skillfully fed Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) on the far side who then on-timed it past Lowson. Belov then made up for his error by scoring early in the second period with a slap shot from the blue line, but the damage was already done. Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) put the final nail in the coffin when Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) stripped Denis Parshin (Colorado Avalanche) behind CSKA’s net and fed Zinovjev in front of the net. But CSKA did not give up, scoring just 20 seconds later on a strong shot by Grigori Misharin (Minnesota Wild) that then hits Evgeny Artyukhin (Tampa Bay Lightning) and floats into Kazan’s net. However, despite a heated battle towards the end of the third period, CSKA is never able to put in the game tying goal and loses 3:2.

Super League - Final regular season statistics have been posted. Viktor Alexandrov (St. Louis Blues) is one of the more pleasant surprises in the top 10, capping off a strong season from a St. Louis Blues prospect. Long time Super League scoring leaders Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Maxim Sushinsky also finished strongly, with Mozyakin logging career high numbers while Sushinsky enjoying his first strong season in a couple of years. Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) continued his dominance of the Super Leauge, with him and his linemate Danis Zaripov finishing second and third in the league. READ MORE

Super League - Ak Bars overpowered Avangard in a battle of the wealthiest Super League clubs, largely behind first line of Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Co. Viktor Alexandrov (St. Louis Blues) led HC Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) to 3:2 victory with his 13th tally of the season. Young 1990 born goalie Alistratov back stopped HC Traktor over the top club in the Super League, HC Salavat Yulayev with an impressive performance. HC Dynamo lost once again, this time to HC Khimik, which got two goals from former NHLer Echman, as well as a late tally from Ilya Krikunov (Vancouver Canucks), who is having an off season, scoring just his fifth goal thus far. It appears that Andrei Kovalenko’s time with HC Severstal is coming to an end. The veteran forward skated most of the time on the third and fourth lines and did not stand out despite his team’s 2:1 victory over strong CSKA club. READ MORE

Super League - Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) remains Russia's top overall player, but Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) has a solid lead in goals. Over the past several seasons the young forward has been consistently a top scorer in the Super Leauge, but has never been as consistent as this season. Vitaliy Atyushov (Ottawa Senators) continues to be Russia's top defender in scoring with his impressive 26 assists. Another player with 26 assists is Alexei Kaigorodov (Phoenix Coyotes) who appears to have finally gotten over the funk of his NHL stint and returned to old form. READ MORE

Channel 1 EuroTour Cup - MOSCOW - Fedor Fedorov (New York Rangers) scored two goals Sunday to help Russia beat the Czech Republic 5-1 in the Channel One Cup and win its second consecutive Euro Hockey Tour event of the season. The former New York Rangers forward scored the first goal on a solo effort 1:57 into the game when his shot from behind the net went in off goalie Lukas Mensator's back. Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins), assisted by Danis Zaripov, made it 2-0 from close range on a power play at 8:26, but Vaclav Skuhravy narrowed the gap before the first interval. (The Canadian Press Article)
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Super League - For the fifteenth round of the 07/08 Super League Avangard hosts Ak Bars Kazan for a very interesting match up between the two new Meccas of Russian hockey. For the guests we will see the first RSL start of undrafted Stanislav Galimov, hunting for his first career victory. Bilyaletdinov honors the gala by icing the Danis Zaripov- Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) (Boston Bruins)- Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) (Pittsburgh Penguins) line, arguably the best unit in European hockey. About the hosts, Belousov keeps playing Alexander Popov on the first line instead with Pavel Rosa, icing with Alexei Cherepanov (New York Rangers) and Anton Kuryanov on the second unit.
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Super League - HC Ak Bars finally earned a resounding victory over HC Sibir with its top unit ( Alexei Morozov – Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) – Danis Zaripov) having a hadn in five of the club’s six tallies. Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs) potted two tallies and added an assist in Metallurg’s loss to Salavat Yulayev. Lada won its 6th game in a row behind a hattrick by Anton Krysanov (Phoenix Coyotes). Yuri Alexandrov (Boston Bruins) scored his first tally of the season for Severstal, but it was Trubachev who put in a beauty of a goal in overtime to lead the Cherepovets based club to victory. Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) tied for the Super League scoring lead, scoring his 11th goal in a losing overtime effort against HC Vityaz. READ MORE

Russian Super League - Find out more about the changes that took place within last season's top four clubs in the Super League. Some such as Avangard Omsk and Metallurg Magnitogorsk have strived to stay on the same trek. Others, such as the league's favorite Ak Bars Kazan that is known for the high flying Morozov - Zinovjev - Zaripov line, coped with some significant changes. Finally CSKA has significantly strengthened the roster despite losing a couple of talented players. READ MORE

Russian Super League - HC Metallurg stormed back into the series after a sub-par game 2 with a resounding 4:1 victory against the incumbent champions HC Ak Bars. Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs) tied another scoring record, this time reaching back more than 10 years to Alexander Koreshkin, who also scored 36 goals during the 1994-95 season. Ak Bars top line consisting of Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) – Danis Zaripov has not been impressive, and at times looked tired and out of place despite immense talent and ability. Defenseman Evgeni Varlamov was another hero of the game for HC Metallurg, scoring the club’s first two goals. READ MORE

Russian Super League - As the Super League finals near, speculation has begun as to who will shine brighter, the perrenial Super League scoring champion and record breaker Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins), or the up and coming 86 born Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs). The latter is a young forward recently drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs and who has this season surpassed Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) in scoring. While Morozov has little to prove and is likely on his way back to the NHL, he will likely put together a strong showing at the tournament, leaving Russia on top.

Russian Super League - Forward Denis Parshin (Colorado Avalanche) scored the only goal of the match, helping HC CSKA tie up the series with HC Salavat Yulayev. This was Parshin’s 20th goal of the season. Dmitri Semin (St. Louis Blues) appears to be regaining his old form from, scoring two of his club’s three goals. Sadly, his efforts were not enough to keep HC Lokomotiv from being eliminated by the favorite HC Avangard. Today also marked the return of Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) to HC Ak Bars lineup after a short absence due to the flu. READ MORE

Russian Super League - Former NHLer Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins) scored his 33rd goal of the season and also surpassed Sergei Makarov for the most prolific scorer in Russian Elite League history! Ivan Kasutin delivers a strong performance for HC CSKA’s win against HC Traktor. Konstantin Volkov (Toronto Maple Leafs) potted his seventh of the season and has continued his late season surge with HC Vityaz. READ MORE

Russian Super League - Despite the penalties and no longer having the home advantage, Ak Bars clinched the Super League championship with a convincing victory, shutting out Avangard in just three games. The Morozov - Zinovjev READ MORE